Gregor the Overlander and the Cutter's Revenge
by rileydavies
Summary: Gregor and his sisters return to the Underland to find it on the edge of war. A new enemy has risen: ants, known as cutters in the Underland. Reunited with Luxa, Vikus, Howard, Ripred, and the rest of the group, he must now retake the role of soldier for Regalia.
1. Chapter 1

Gregor leaned back against his pillow, gently running his hand along his legs. His fingers traced a series of white scars, bright against his skin. He traced the scars up his legs, stopping briefly at his chest where five deep scars were gouged into his skin. As he traced each one, grief rolled over him. Pushing it away, he ran his fingers along his arms. More scars. Eventually he looked at his hands. They were littered with scars but two were deeper than the others. He looked at them for a moment then reached over to his bedside table and grabbed a stone jar. Carefully opening the top, he wrinkled his nose as the smell of fish filled the room. He slathered the scars in ointment then placed it back on the table.

Gregor pushed away the curtain that separated his room from the rest of the house. It wasn't really a room: it was an old closet but it served as his bedroom. He felt lucky to have it since it was the only room with a window and the cloth curtain provided privacy. He paused outside the door of his sister's bedroom and looked around the apartment.

It was only four months ago that Gregor's parents had been contemplating the family moving to Virginia but in the end they had decided to stay in their apartment in New York. Gregor knew that he should feel happy that the move had never happened but couldn't. He didn't know where he belonged and didn't think moving to Virginia would have helped.

Gregor opened the door to his sister's bedroom. In the corner was a large cot, covered with a thin blanket. As Gregor approached it, a mop of brown curls popped up from behind the bars.

"Gregor!" Boots squealed happily.

Gregor lifted her out of her crib and she ran around him, clutching a toy dog. He spied something under her crib. Leaning over, he pulled out a pair of sandals and quickly hid them under his shirt. Then he turned back to Boots, who was jumping on the bed in the other corner.

"Lizzie! Lizzie!" squeaked Boots.  
Lizzie jerked awake and sat up in bed. Her face was panicked for a moment before she saw Gregor. They exchanged a sad smile as Boots ran around to the door.

"Beakfast, Gregor," she called to him.

He smiled. Boots had finally figured out how to say his name but still had a hard time putting Rs in other words.

"Just a moment Boots," he said, sitting on the end of Lizzie's bed.

He pulled the sandals out from under his shirt.

"I found them under her bed," he whispered.

Lizzie looked at the shoes sadly. Thin strands of fabric had been woven together to make a sandal shape. The hide of an animal was used for the sole.

"I guess we forgot to look under her crib," said Gregor quietly.

Sadness shot through him. Ever since his family had returned from the Underland, they had been pretending to Boots that it didn't exist. It appeared to have worked: she no longer knew how to speak Crawler and had stopped saying "hi" to any cockroaches in the apartment. The songs and rhymes she had learned under the care of Dulcet, a nurse in the Underland, had now been forgotten. Sometimes she asked where Hazard was. Hazard was her best friend from the Underland. But the family always said that it was a dream and gradually she had forgotten him too.

Gregor's mother had persuaded them to do this. Seeing the effect the war in the Underland had had on Gregor and Lizzie, she had set them the task of making sure that Boots soon forgot about the Underland. They had removed all of her Underland clothing and toys. They told her that the people she had met had only been a dream.

She seemed to have forgotten everything.

Lizzie still remembered. She woke up from nightmares every night and was more nervous than before. She didn't talk a lot and kept to herself mostly. Everything that had happened… she kept thinking about it, turning it over and over in her mind.

As for Gregor, he couldn't forget anything. Not his friends, Howard and Mareth, not his bat, Ares, who had died in Gregor's final fight with the Bane, not the Bane, the rat leader who had led the rats to kill hundreds of mice in the volcanic region known as the Firelands. And not Luxa, the soon-to-be queen of Regalia. During the last war, their friendship had transformed into love. All the times they had had together: on their first quest to save his dad when Luxa had destroyed the spinner's web, on their second quest when he had awoken from unconsciousness to see her standing over him, his joy when he had discovered that she was alive in the jungle, their journey to save the mice and finally their time during the war. His showing her the photos in the museum, their kiss, all the time they had spent together and the day he left the Underland.

Gregor shook his head hard to stop thinking about Luxa. He got up and met Boots in the kitchen, which looked like a war zone. Boots had managed to spill the milk all over the counter, get cereal stuck in the toaster and make a sticky carpet of dried juice on the kitchen floor. At the center of this stood Boots, crying loudly. Cereal was stuck in her hair, milk was spilled down her t-shirt and her hair was matted with juice.

"Gregor," she wailed.

"It's okay," he said to her, picking her up and walked her over to the bathroom.

It took half an hour to get Boots clean again. Lizzie washed Boots while Gregor cleaned up the kitchen. The three of them sat at the table and ate breakfast. It was Saturday but Gregor's dad was working at the museum, his mother was working as the secretary at the local school. Gregor had always thought it unfair that his mother had to work on the weekend. But there were always paper's to organize or forms to write out and Gregor's family needed money.

Every month, the Underlanders sent up some money to help them keep going. Worried that Gregor would somehow get suck back into the war torn world of the Underland, she had forbidden them to go pick the money up. Instead, it was delivered to the doorstep at night and they found the parcel the next morning but even so, Gregor's parents had to work a lot.

The instant Boots was finished breakfast, she started to dance around Gregor, pleading to go to the park.

"Just a minute, Boots," he called over to her as she struggled to put on her jacket.

He walked over to his grandmother's room. She lay on the bed, covered in a patchwork quilt with pieces of dresses she had worn over the years. her face was peaceful. Gregor walked over to her head and whispered:

"We're going to the park."

She turned over and muttered.

"Sounds good. Be back for lunch."

"Sure," Gregor replied and left.

Four months ago, his grandmother had been very ill. Her heart had stopped working and the doctor's had done everything they could to stop her from dying. Eventually, they found the perfect medication and Gregor's grandmother had been able to return home. She spent most of her time sleeping. Gregor made her some toast before he left with his sisters.

When they arrived at the park, Boots ran over to the play structure to play with a boy from her daycare. Gregor and Lizzie sat together on the bench. Lizzie's eyes were unfocused as she stared off into the distance. Gregor knew that she was thinking about the last time they had been here, right after they had come home from the Underland. Gregor couldn't help thinking of the war and death he had seen. Instinctively, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic figure. A black bat. Ares.

It began to snow. Slowly at first, then faster and faster until it was on course to become a blizzard. Gregor called Boots over to them and the three of them held hands as they walked home as to not get lost as everything turned white.

The phone was ringing as they entered the apartment. Gregor dashed over to answer.

"Hello?" he asked. "Oh, hi mom. Yes, we just got back from the park. What? Okay, don't worry about us. We'll be fine. Make dinner and do the dishes. Okay. Sounds good. Bye."

Gregor turned to face his sisters.

"The roads are blocked so mom can't get back from work. Dad called her and the museum road is closed too. But they'll both be back by tomorrow morning. So we have to make dinner and wash the dishes."

Lizzie nodded and sat on the couch with a thick puzzle book and a pencil. Boots rushed into her room only to run back out, tears streaming down her face.

"Gregor! Gregor!" she yelled.

"Boots, what's wrong?" he asked her.

"Nooooooo," she wailed.

She ran back into her room. Gregor and Lizzie exchanged puzzled looks and followed her. Boots was searching around her cot. Gregor noticed that her toy dog, Cocoa, was missing.

"Cocoa!" screamed Boots.

"Where do you think Cocoa is?" Gregor asked Lizzie.

Lizzie looked confused for a moment before her eyes widened.

"Mom put Cocoa in the wash," she whispered. "She always picks up the laundry at lunch. But since she's not here…"

Her voice trailed off. The two of them looked at Boots.

The laundry room was the entrance to the Underland. In the corner, behind one of the washing machines, there was a metal grate that led down into the world of the Underland. Ever since they had come back, the laundry room had become off limits. But now…

"Should we go get Cocoa?" Gregor asked Lizzie as Boots' wails reached their peak.

Lizzie looked at her little sister then nodded.

"Let's go now," she said. "Boots, we're going to go get Cocoa."

Boots' wail cut itself off.

"I come too," she declared.

"You can't," Gregor blurted out.

Boots opened her mouth to start crying again.

"Okay, you can come," amended Gregor. "Let's get this over with."

The three of them headed down to the laundry room, Boots riding piggy-back on Gregor, Lizzie leading the way. The hesitated then opened the door to the laundry room. Boots dismounted from Gregor and to try and find Cocoa. Lizzie and Gregor searched around the machines that their mother usually used but couldn't find the toy dog. Boots' started to cry again.

The search went on. Finally, Boots gave a little cry of surprise.

"Boots?" Gregor asked suspiciously.

There was no sound for a moment then a clang of metal hitting the floor as a strange whispery noise filled the laundry room. A white mist had come out from behind one of the machines. Gregor yelled and ran towards to mist, with Lizzie following him. As they rounded the corner and looked behind the machine, they saw Boots leaning over a grate that disappeared into darkness. White mists were swirling up from it.

Gregor lunged forward. Shocked, Boots leaned forward and started to fall. She grabbed Lizzie's arm. Lizzie in turn grabbed Gregor's arm but it was too late. Boots was already falling, pulling Lizzie and Gregor with her, back into the Underland.


	2. Chapter 2

Gregor couldn't help feeling happy as he fell towards the Underland. He had missed the people there, the pale skinned, violet eyes race of humans known as Underlanders. He, Gregor, was an Overlander. Sadness at Ares death was brought back to him but he pushed it away by concentrating of the fact that he might see Luxa soon.

He could tell that Lizzie felt the same way. She had missed the giant rat, Ripred. Gregor's only concern was for Boots. All this time they had been telling her that the Underland was a dream but now she would realize the truth. As the mists swirled around them, slowing their descent, Gregor grabbed Boots and held onto her for dear life. Boots wiggled in his arms and faced him.

"Wasn't a dream," she pouted.

Gregor shook his head.

"Hazard? Luxa? Howard?" Boots asked.

"They're real," Gregor confessed.

Boots grinned at him.

"Hazard," she squealed happily. "Hazard! Hazard!"

Suddenly, Gregor saw a shape shooting towards them out of the darkness. It was a large, black and white striped bat. Gregor, Lizzie and Boots landed gently on the bat's back.

"Nike?" Gregor said incredulously.

"Greetings, Overlander," purred the bat.

"Hi, Nike," replied Gregor, pleased that she hadn't called him "Warrior".

"Geetings, Pincess," said Boots.

"Geetings, Pincess," replied Nike.

"We are both Pincesses," cried Boots and sat down in Gregor's lap and fell asleep.

"How did you know that we were going to be here?" asked Gregor.

"Nerissa," was all the bat replied but it was enough for Gregor.

Nerissa was Luxa's cousin. She could see the past, present and future, a bit like Sandwich, the eerie prophet of the Regalian people. She had probably seen him in a vision and had sent Nike.

"I will let Luxa answer all your questions," said Nike.

Gregor felt like he could hardly wait the ten minute fly to Regalia, the stone city of the Underlanders. He passed the time but watching the lights from the torches grow steadily bigger. Regalia came into view, a beautiful city made of stone houses. In the distance, the palace loomed over the city. It was built like a fortress in case of one of the many wars of the Underland caused an invasion of the city. Here lived Luxa, who would be queen of Regalia when she was sixteen, with her grandfather Vikus. During the war, Vikus had had a stroke. Gregor hadn't seen or heard from him much after the meeting of the delegates and didn't know how he was. Nike flew up over the fortress and landed in the hall. The place didn't have a roof so that bats would come and go as they pleased.

Gregor slid off Nike's back and he helped his sister's get off. Nobody was in the hall. Nike led the three children through the corridors until they arrived at Luxa's appartements. Gregor took a deep breath and opened the door.

Luxa was sitting on a couch in the main room. Nerissa was sitting opposite her and Vikus was sitting beside Luxa on a small grey bat. Ripred sat in the corner. When they sat Gregor enter with Boots and Lizzie, Luxa, Ripred and Nerissa stood up and Vikus' bat flew him over.

Lizzie ran over to Ripred and hugged him. He smiled at her and she climbed up onto his back, examining the wounds he had received in the last war to check that they were healing.

"Greetings, Gregor the Overlander. Greetings, Lizzie, code breaker and Boots the princess. Your arrival was foretold by Nerissa. You have come at a time of desperation. I hope you will be able to help us," Vikus said quietly.

Gregor stared at him in amazement.

"The doctors helped me make a good recovery. I can talk and move but cannot walk. My bond was killed in the war. This is Aria," he gestured to the grey bat. "She is abnormally small, but big enough for me to ride her. She has consented to carry me around."

"Greetings, Warrior," said Aria in a high purr. "Many legends of your success in defeating the Bane have been told and it is an honor to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," said Gregor distractedly.

He was staring at Luxa. She walked over to him and they hugged.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

She nodded but looked tired. Gregor turned to face Vikus.

"You said it was a time of desperation?" asked Gregor, hoping he had misheard.

Vikus nodded.

"After our alliance with the gnawers, we had hoped for no more wars for a while. Considering that many of our wars have been with the gnawers, we assumed that a period of peace would ensue. We were wrong."

Gregor gulped.

"A cryptic prophecy has been decoded by Nerissa. We need you here," continued Vikus.

"You told me that there were no more prophecies concerning the Warrior," said Gregor accusingly.

"The prophecy doesn't mention you as the Warrior. You are mentioned as a Prince," said Ripred.

"It might be best if we could all go look at the prophecy," said Vikus and the others agreed.

Vikus led the way to the prophecy room on Aria. Nerissa, Lizzie and Boots rode on Ripred's back. Gregor and Luxa walked at the back of the group holding hands.

"We always meet when the Underland is in grave danger," muttered Luxa to Gregor.

"Yeah," he agreed and they continued to walk in happy silence.

There were so many prophecies in the room of prophecies that it was hard to find the one that Vikus wanted them to read. It was at the back. Gregor started to read:

 _If the warrior's role was fulfilled_

 _If the monster has been killed_

 _Death defied_

 _But never died._

 _Gnawers and humans are now at peace_

 _But death had yet to cease_

 _Can you hear them coming now?_

 _Did he keep his final vow?_

 _If his heart still beats_

 _As the blood red cutter eats_

 _He will come back_

 _As your future turns black._

 _Bring the Princesses from above_

 _The Prince if he is swayed by love_

 _The light of cutter's bane_

 _The light that does not wax and wane_

Gregor stared at the prophecy for a moment.

"What does it mean?" he asked.

"We can try to decode it stanza by stanza," said Vikus. "The first stanza talk about the war: you killing the Bane."

"What does the "death defied, but never died" stuff mean?" asked Gregor.

"We don't know," said Vikus. "Defied means to disobey so death defied means that they refused to die."

"But why then repeat it?" demanded Gregor, looking at the "But never died" line.

Vikus shook his head.

"We do not know," he repeated. "Gnawers and humans are now at peace is easy to decode. So is the part about the killing not stopping yet."

"What do y-" started Gregor but Ripred cut him off.

"The can you hear them now part doesn't make sense either," he said. "But the final vow part…"

He looked sideways at Gregor.

I promised Luxa that I would never forget her, Gregor thought. Maybe that's my final vow. But he didn't say it outloud.

"We think that heart beating refers to you still being alive," added Nerissa.

"He will come back, as your future turns black," said Luxa slowly. "Our future is currently dark and now you have returned."

It wasn't lost on Gregor that they hadn't explained the bit about the cutters, the Underland word for ant.

"You have returned with your sisters. The prince and the princesses," said Vikus.

"What is the light bit about?" asked Gregor.

Everyone looked at Luxa.

"My name is connected with light in many cultures," she said quietly.

"And the wax and wane stuff?" asked Gregor.

"We do not know," she replied.

"What is this prophecy about?" demanded Gregor.

"Look at the title," murmured Vikus.

Gregor's eyes traveled slowly up the prophecy and landed on the title.

The prophecy of the cutter's revenge.


	3. Chapter 3

The group returned to Luxa's apartments. Gregor barely remembered the trip. His mind was filled with new information. He finally collapsed onto a couch and turned to Vikus.

"I don't understand," he said slowly.

"That's not surprising," Ripred muttered, looking ashamed only when Lizzy looked at him accusingly.

"Neither do we," Vikus replied solemnly. That didn't exactly fill Gregor with confidence and some of that must have shown on his face because Vikus continued. "Well, we don't understand everything. But we do know some things that might make this clearer."

Aria carried him over to a chair and Luxa helped him sit. He sighed.

"The cutters have never really been a problem for us," he started. "Their territory is too remote and it was often thought to be too cold in areas like Regalia for the cutters to survive. What fools we were."

He paused.

"After the war ended and you had returned to the Overland, we received word that the cutters were moving towards the border in numbers we didn't know existed. They invaded the jungle region previously inhabited by the mice, who were driven out before the war. Those that returned home after escaped and told of an army of cutters destroying everything in their path. They entered the rat's lands and many of Ripred's soldiers were killed trying to fight them. They then moved towards the crawler's land, but most of them had by that time fled towards Regalia. The cutters are now approaching the spinner's territory. The spinners are preparing for battle. The cutters that survive the battle will then move onto the bats' territory, then will travel to the Fount and, finally, to Regalia."

"Why?" was all Gregor managed after this.

"Because they hate warmbloods and any allies of theirs," Vikus replied, gesturing to Temp. Boots was asleep on his shell.

"So, what do we do?" Gregor demanded.

"Fight," Ripred said determinedly. "And hope that when you killed the Warrior that you didn't kill his pitiful battle skills."

Gregor didn't know if we wanted to argue this or not. He had never wanted to be the Warrior. He had never wanted his battle skills. And he didn't want to fight now. But he knew that he might not have a choice. You could leave, he thought, just leave and go back home. Pretend this never happened. But he looked up at Lizzie, who was solving a math problem Ripred had asked her. Boots was still sleeping on Temp's shell. Vikus looked weary but happy. Ripred's expression had softened. And Luxa… he looked up at her. Her violet eyes seemed to read his thoughts but held no accusation or judgment. He remembered their last moments together and made his decision.

"What now?" he asked.

"You train," Ripred said roughly. "You train and hope that the cutters die from laughter at your pathetic fighting."

"I believe Mareth is running a training session in an hour," Luxa added. "I plan on attending. I'm certain he wouldn't mind if you did."

"A brilliant plan," said Vikus. Aria crouched in front of him and Luxa helped him climb onto her back. "I must see what the delegation from the fliers has to say about their supplies. Goodbye."

Aria took off and flew through the wide corridors. Ripred frowned.

"You should go to the baths," he advised. "Right now the cutters don't know you're here and that's how we want it to remain."

"Can ants smell?" asked Gregor.

"We don't know. But they have allies who can," Ripred said firmly. "Temp can take Boots and Lizzie to see Dulcet. I have to go talk to some of my scouts."

Lizzie hugged him again, and he left. Temp led her and Boots from the room. Luxa turned to face Gregor.

"Shall we meet in half an hour in the great hall?" she asked. He nodded and she left. Gregor walked to the baths from memory, his mind wandering. When he finally arrived, he washed and changed into the clothes the Underlanders wore: shirts and pants made from a light, plant material and sandals similar to those he had found under Boots crib. He left the room and went to the nursery. Dulcet, a kind Underlander nanny, was sitting with some mouse pups in her lap. Boots was just another snoring lump. Gregor smiled when he saw Lizzie, who loved math, teaching two of the older pups how to do long division.

"Hi Dulcet," he said quietly, so as to not disturb the happy scene.

"Greetings, Overlander," she whispered back.

"I have to meet Mareth for a training session. Is it okay if Boots and Lizzie stay here?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied, smiling.

"Thanks," he said and left. Running up the stairs, he burst into the great hall. It was the same as he remembered. Towering walls, no ceiling and, at one end, a balcony with a view of the stone city. Luxa was leaning against the far wall, talking with her bond, Aurora. Gregor ran over to them.

"Greetings, Overlander," Aurora purred.

"Hi, Aurora," he replied.

Luxa leaped lightly onto her bat's back. "Here," she offered Gregor a hand and he climbed on behind her. Aurora took off and left the great hall. They flew over the stone city. It had been badly damaged by the war but was being rebuilt. He still saw signs of the war, though, and signs of preparations for another. They arrived in the arena and the two jumped off. Soft moss coated the ground. Groups of people, ranging from toddlers to twenty-year-olds, learned various drills. Gregor watched as a group of four and five-year-olds tumbled from bats, seven-year-olds learned their first sword drills and twelve-year-olds tried the blood balls to practice their fighting. Evidence of the current crisis was also clear in the groups of refugees of various species in the far corner.

"Luxa! Gregor!"

A boy with black hair and bright green eyes was running towards them.

"Hazard," Luxa greeted her cousin and adopted brother. "What are you doing here?"

"I was helping the refugees. But Vikus sent word that I was to return to the palace," the boy replied solemnly. He turned to Gregor. "Is Boots back? And Lizzie?"

"Yeah," Gregor said, grinning. "Yeah, they're in the nursery with Dulcet."

Hazard opened his mouth and made a high pitched squeak. A tawny bat with patches of white and orange and black that reminded Gregor of a calico cat moved away from a group doing drills. It flew down to Hazard, who leaped lightly onto its back mid-flight.

"Goodbye, Gregor," he said, as his bat flew away. Gregor watched them for a moment before turning to Luxa.

"That is Corstin, Hazard's bond," Luxa said quietly.

They were both silent. Gregor remembered Thalia, the bat who Hazard had previously planned on bonding with. She had died on one of their quests when she had inhaled poisonous fumes from a volcano in the Firelands. He turned to Luxa. Judging from the sadness in her eyes, she was thinking the same.

"Overlander!" a happy shout woke Gregor from his thoughts. Mareth, an Underland soldier and trainer, was running towards them. Behind him, a group of teenagers watched and whispered excitedly. Gregor's stomach felt funny: he knew that his reputation as the Warrior preceded him. That plus the fact that he had hit all fifteen blood balls, a feat rarely accomplished.

"Hey, Mareth," he said.

"We have come to join the training session, if that is alright," Luxa asked.

Mareth nodded. "Indeed, we were about to start. Today we will be working on general skills, then more specific depending on what people are having difficulty with."

They joined the group. First, they did stretches, then some basic tumbling that Gregor struggled through. Next came running, short sprints and longer endurance races, which Gregor almost always won.

"Where's Howard?" Gregor asked during one of their breaks.

"He is working in the hospital," Luxa replied. "He has heard of your arrival but is too busy helping the refugees to leave right now. Apart from their parents, he and all his siblings have come to Regalia as it offers more protection than the Fount."

"You mean Stellovet is here?" Gregor demanded in an undertone.

Luxa nodded gloomily. "And the twins, Hero and Kent, and the youngest, Chiminey." She gestured over to another group of kids. Two kids, a girl and a boy, were dueling, although they seemed to be beginners. A younger girl flew, inexperienced, on a bat above. All had the same silvery hair as Stellovet and Howard.

"Are they still the same?" Gregor asked, remembering how Stellovet, Hero, and Kent had been mean to Luxa and had wished to become royalty.

She nodded again. "At least Howard is nice," she said, brightening. "And the child, Chiminey, is sweet."

Their break was soon over and now they were doing drills. First came sword drills that Gregor, now that he could control his rager powers, excelled at. Then dueling but not, he was pleased to discover, the blood balls. After that was flying. All the students moved towards their bonds, who had been training in ariel drills. Gregor stood awkwardly off to the side, unsure what to do.

"Here, Overlander," said Mareth. He waved his hand and a bat flew away from the others and landed next to them. It was a pale grey, with darker stripes and black, intelligent eyes. "This is Maia. She is not bonded and is working with us on ariel drills but agreed to work with you and, if necessary, will fight at your side."

"'Sup," Gregor asked, noncommittally. He didn't mean to sound rude but he didn't like the idea of replacing Ares. The bat blinked at him, puzzled.

"I do not understand," she purred.

"Hi," Gregor forced himself to sound better.

"Hello, Warrior," Maia replied. "Tales of your bravery are told throughout the Underland."

Not a great start, Gregor thought. He didn't like being reminded he had been the Warrior.

"Just Gregor. Call me Gregor," he muttered.

Mareth moved away and clapped for attention. "We will practice aerial maneuvers, then participate in a battle exercise. Please mount your bats."

The bats took off and took turns diving towards the ground. The students leaped onto their backs and soared away. Gregor swallowed nervously. He missed Ares, who knew that he wasn't… all they thought he was. The Warrior. An expert fighter. Or, he thought gloomily as Maia soared above the other bats, very good at the whole jumping onto bats thing. He crouched and sprang as high as he could as she shot towards him. He landed clumsily and spat a bit of fur out of his mouth. Maia didn't say anything, just flew a bit further away from the group as he recovered. When they returned, Mareth was starting to explain the drills.

"We will practice attacks on grounded enemies," Mareth yelled.

The next hour or so passed in a blur of fur and metal and the students took turns attacking fake ants on the ground before moving away too quickly to be harmed. They then moved on to attacking as groups, then flying in different formations. After they finished the final formation and all the bats had landed, Mareth told the group to return to the arena the next morning for a larger battle drill. The students wandered off, either through the tunnels to the city, the areas around and the farmlands or straight up through the ceilingless arena and off towards the fortress. When Gregor landed and jumped off, Maia simply flew away. Sighing, Gregor turned to Luxa, who was talking to Mareth. She leaped onto Aurora's back and grabbed Gregor's raised arm and dragged him on behind her.

"It might help if you learned to fly," she said, teasing. Gregor didn't reply, too winded and gloomy to talk. They flew back to the city in silence until the fortress came into view.

"I know you miss him," Luxa whispered, her voice almost lost in the wind. She didn't turn her head but slipped her hand into his. Gregor leaned his head against her shoulder and let tears come to his eyes. Tears of happiness at being able to hold her hand and see all his friends but also of sadness at what he had lost over his years in the Underland and tears of fear at what was to come.

 **Hi, sorry I haven't posted anything in almost a year. I lost my password but found it again last week. Anyway, I'm planning on posting new chapters each week from now on. I hope that you have as much fun reading this as I did writing it! Thanks also to everyone who reviewed, your comments and support mean a ton to me!**


	4. Chapter 4

They landed soon after and Gregor wiped his hand across his face. He saw a tall teenager with silvery hair.

"Gregor," Howard called happily, coming towards him.

"Hey, man," Gregor replied, grinning. "How's it going?"

"Well," he said but his eyes were tired. "There are many in the hospital that need my help."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Luxa asked.

"No, cousin," he told her, smiling weakly. "You two must rest and prepare. I wished to see you briefly but now I must return to the hospital. Your return will bring hope to all."

He left.

"I must leave as well," Luxa said quietly. "Mareth informed me that I am needed in the war room."

"Should I come?" Gregor asked.

"No," Luxa said firmly. "Imagine Solovet multiplied by twelve people."

Gregor shuddered. "Good luck," he told her, as she left.

He looked around uncertainly, unsure of what to do next. That was sometimes the way in the Underland: when all the quests and wars and code-breaking and training stopped, there was nowhere he was supposed to go. He decided to visit his sisters in the nursery. As he entered the nursery, he saw Boots and the mice playing catch. He looked around but couldn't spot Lizzy. Dulcet stood in the corner, watching the children, looking concerned.

"Hey, do you know where Lizzy is?"

Dulcet looked at him and he flinched at the fear in her eyes.

"What?" he demanded.

"Your sister was summoned to the war room," she said quietly. Boots and the mice kept playing, apparently unaware of what had happened.

"What?" Gregor repeated. "By who?"

"The leader of the council," Dulcet informed him.

"I thought Luxa was the leader. Or Vikus, because she's not sixteen," Gregor said, feeling his voice rising in pitch. Boots looked at him, worried. He smiled at her and she grinned back before returning to her game.

"Yes, Luxa will only run the council once she is of age. Vikus was running it but after his stroke, they transferred leadership to Pira," Dulcet whispered.

"Who's Pira?" Gregor asked.

"She used to work in the army. She is very strict," Dulcet paused before continuing, slowly. "She often employs the same tactics as Solovet might have, in her place."

Gregor felt his stomach drop. He didn't want Lizzie anywhere near this fight, let alone in the war room with this Pira.

"Why?" he demanded. "Ripred didn't mention any code, and that's what Lizzie was useful for last time."

"I do not know," Dulcet told him.

"Where's the war room?"

As she wrote the directions on a piece of paper, Gregor went to check on Boots, trying not to let his worry show.

"Hey there, little girl," he said, ruffling her hair. "What are you doing?"

"Catch," she replied happily. "Gregor, I catch the ball. I like playing mouses."

Gregor laughed. "Are you okay staying here a bit longer?"

She nodded emphatically, her brown curls bobbing. "Whe-w Lizzy?" she said, stumbling over the "r".

"She's off with Ripred," he told her, cringing slightly at the lie.

"R is for rat," she informed him, catching the ball from one of the mice, before throwing it to the one next to her.

"Yeah, it is. I'll be back for you later," he said.

"See you soon," she said. That was what their family always said. Not "goodbye" but "see you soon", believing that they would. Gregor picked up the paper with the instructions on it and hurried down corridors until he arrived in front of a stone door. He took a deep breath and opened it.

He almost immediately ran into someone. He spun away only to trip and nearly fall. By the time he stood up, most of the people in the room were looking at him. He winced inwardly. This was a fabulous way to meet the people in charge of the war effort.

Lizzie was in the middle of the room, at a round table. Next to her was a tall woman with bright red hair cut short and cold grey eyes. She watched Gregor as he approached. Lizzie turned and smiled at the sight of him. Her eyes were wide and she looked stressed. He put a protective arm around her, feeling powerless to help her. Pira watched them blankly.

"Hey, Lizz, how's it going?" he asked her casually.

"I'm okay," she replied evenly. "I was called away from the nursery to help in the war room. Pira was just showing me around."

Gregor turned to Pira. "Nice to meet you, I'm Gregor."

"I have heard many tales of you, Warrior."

Again, Gregor winced and wished that the prophecy had a nicer, less aggressive name for him.

"I was just telling your sister about the war thus far," she went on. "She really is a bright child."

Lizzie tensed and Gregor squeezed her shoulder.

"Thank you," Lizzie replied quietly.

"We called you here because you proved so vital in the last war," Pira explained.

"Is there another code?" Lizzie asked.

"No. The cutters have no strategy except to kill and move on," she said angrily. "Instead we value your strategic skills. We hope that you can help us plan our attacks."

Lizzie looked nauseous

"Sorry, I don't think I can," she said quickly. "I don't want to be responsible for people's lives."

"My apologies but you are too valuable to lose," Pira said. "As long as everything goes smoothly, I don't imagine you'll be needed much. However, should things become difficult, should things not go to plan, you may find yourself in the thick of it."

But she wasn't looking at Lizzie anymore. The challenge in her eyes was aimed at Gregor.


End file.
